Wood Handling - Too Much! And your number??

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It is what it is:p ....and if I sat down to count the steps thay would just be another step_g
 
WOOD HANDLING

I think I have most of you beat (ha ha)

1. Buck and transport rounds and load on to tailgate
2. Climb up on pickup and transport and stack rounds to front of pickup bed (some).
3. Transport to splitting area, and move rounds to back of pickup (some)
4. Lift onto splitter for splitting into quarters to dry, so as to be able to lift to drying stack.
5. Remove from splitter and stack by pickup.
6. Pick up and reload onto pickup.
7. Transport to remote drying pile and lift and stack.
8. Reload onto pickup when dry.
9. Lift from pickup onto splitter.
10. Remove splits from splitter and load into wheelbarrow.
11. Transfer to bulk dry pile and stack.
12. Reload from bulk dry pile and load into wheelbarrow.
13. Transfer to convenient dry pile by house and unload and stack.
14 Load wheelbarrow and transfer to side door of house.
15 Unload wheelbarrow and transfer to short term stack in house in stove room.
16. Pick up split and carry it next to stove.
17. Open stove door, pick up split and place it in stove.
(whew)
Oh yes, (18). go back and pile all slash for land owner.
 
Same steps as everyone else but I have stacks at home and at work. The work stacks require loading for transpot home and unloading. It is worth it to have the extra space.
 
I have stopped counting how many times I handle my firewood. I focus on the last time I handle it.
 
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All depends really. Dry wood off the saw is Stella.

So dry wood snags:

1) Cut down (Hope it lands good)
2) Buck logs.
3) Flip & split (Use axe for both steps)
4) Load into truck (always have help)
5) Unload straight into wood room.
6) Burn at will.

That's an ideal 6 step cycle. I could touch the log 10 times just getting it into the ideal cutting position.
 
  • I bring the splitter to the woods with me with my UTV. I cut up the tree then split in the woods. I bring the the trailer back later and load it. I stack into a pile at my wood stacks keeping all recent wood together. I don't touch it again until I burn several years later. What's that like 4 times before I burn I don't know who's counting.
 
For me it's pretty simple, since we buy truck loads of logs:

1) cut log
2) stack round
3) split using splitter backed up to stack of rounds, splits get thrown directly into trailer behind lawn tractor
4) stack splits in drying stacks
5) move to porch
6) bring into house to burn.

It's really step that saves me time and wear and tear. I hate splitting nto a pile and then having to pick up the splits from the pile to load them to take 'em to stack.
 
Buying five cords of logs, I got all my rounds into the side yard ready to split in nine calendar days. If I had been driving out to the woods again this year it would have been all my free time for at least six weeks to get to the same five cords of rounds stacked in side yard.

So this year, easy way:

1. Cut round off log.
2. Carry round to side yard to await splitting.
3. Lift round onto splitter.
4. Throw split onto pile.
5. Carry splits to seasoning rack and stack.
6. Carry dry splits to wood shed.
7. carry dry splits from wood shed to rack in garage.
8. carry dry splits from garage to stove.

If I had more acreage I could build a bigger shed for both seasoning and storing, that would eliminate step six and get my number down to "7".
 
In a perfect world...
1. Cut round or split/quarter big rounds
2. Load into truck
3. Back truck up to splitter right next to storage area, off truck onto splitter
4. Throw splits into wheelbarrow
5. Stack
6. Fill wheelbarrow and bring into basement
7. Throw in stove

That's for the basement stove and walkout basement. The upstairs stove has one more step since I stage that wood right outside a door.

The above has happened more than twice in ten years so I'm calling that my "system". But every other year I get some big score where I'm carting home rounds with no place for splits since I already filled everything up. And of course I've blocked my access to the stuff I want to use! At that point I'm using every mental device I've got to FORGET how many times I've handled a split.

Most years I simply admit I'm like a Bower Bird with this firewood.
 
1 Drag tree to wood stack area.
2 Buck and split - DONE!

You'd have to ask my wife what happens after that, that's where she takes over.
 
I get loaded at the mill and dump it at home. Scoop up with the loader and make a heaphausen near house. Tarp.
Load into wood room. Then burn.
Physically I only handle it twice. Mechanically twice.
Minimal and I like it .
 
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